Seesaw board



March l, 1932.

J. H.' HILL sEEsAw BOARD Filed March 7, 1928 Patented Mar. l, 1932 UNTEDSTATES are JUNE H. HILL, OF ANDERSON, INDIANA, ASSGNOR T0 HILL-STANDARDCO., 0F ANDERSON, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA SEESAW BOARDApplication led March 7,

My invention relates in general to see-saw or teeter-totter boards, andmore particularly to a resiliently supported type of see-saw board ofnovel construction.

It is common practice to construct see-saw or teeter-totter boards whichare adapted to be tilted about a lixed fulcrum. ln such instances theonly movement experienced by the board while in use is a single swingingor tilting movement about the fixed ulcrum within predetermined limits.One of the primary objects of my present invention 1s to provide asee-saw having a board which is mounted in such a manner that when theboard is in use it will not only experience a tilting movement, but willalso experience a combined swaying movement in a directionlongitudinally thereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide a see-saw which isresiliently mounted intermediate its ends so that when the users of theboard impart the usual tilting motion thereto, the resilient mountingwill serve to effect a pleasing swaying sensation compounded with thetilting movement.

A further object of my invention is to provide a see-saw of economicaland rigid construction having a resilient support which is adapted tomaintain the board in a horizontal positon, that is, approximatelyparallel with the ground or iloor while not in use, thereby retainingboth extremities of the board in elevated positions.

A further important object of this invention is to provide a see-sawespecially adapted to Jfurnish amusement for children with a minimum odanger incident to its use, there being no relatively movable joints orrotary bearings in the construction whereby a child might becomeentangled and crushed.

A further object of the invention contemlates the provision of a see-sawof simple and rugged construction which comprises a minimum number ofparts and no relatively movable joints.

A further object of my invention is to pro- Ivide a teeter-totter whichis designed to be operated by a single user as distinguished from theusual type of pivotally mounted see-saw boards which must be operated by1928. Serial No. 259,752.

two persons, and to this end I contemplate the provision of a mountingfor the teetertotter board which, when operated by one person willrender a combined tilting and swaying movement in a directionlongitudinally or' the board. It is still a further object of my presentinvention to provide a teeter-totter or see-saw which is resilientlymounted intermediate the ends of the see-saw board, said mounting beingadapted for association with a portable base or for permanent attachmentto the ground or floor.

These and other objects will be more apparent from the followingdetailed description when it is considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a see-saw representing one embodimentof my invention, and

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken longitudinallyof the seesaw board onthe line 2-2 of Figure 1.

To illustrate my invention, I have shown in the drawings a see-sawcomprising a base indicated generally by the numeral 2, a seesaw board iand resilient support members 6 comprising spaced uprights rigidlysecured at their opposed ends to the see-saw board and in the base 2which base is formed of spaced longitudinal frame members 8, groundmembers 10 extending between the Jirames and a transverse support member12. The support member 12 is secured to the upper edges of thelongitudinal frame members 8 by suitable 'r'astening means which, in theillustrated embodiment, comprises bolts 14. The parts comprisin the base2 may be constructed of any suita le material such as wood or the likewhich will permit the base to be moved ifrom place to place with ease.

rThe spaced uprights 6 comprise iiat strips of spring steel and aresecured at their lower ends between the vertical arms of angle irons 16which engage opposite sides of the uprights, being secured thereto inany Convenient manner such as by welding, riveting and the like. Thehorizontal arms of the angle irons 16 extend outwardly and may besecured to the support member 12 as by bolts eef 18. The uprights 6extend upwardly of the angle irons 16 and are rigidly secured at theirupper ends to the lower surface of the seesaw board 4 by means of angleirons 20, said angle irons having vertical arms which clamp the oppositefaces of the uprights and are secured thereto in any convenient manner.The horizontal arms of the angle irons 2O may be secured to the lowersurface of the see-saw board 4 intermediate the ends thereof by means ofbolts 22. Handles 24 are positioned at intervals along the upper surfaceof the see-saw board 4.

Referring to Figure 2, it will be observed that dotted lines indicatepositions assumed by the board 4 and the resilient uprights 6 when thesee-saw is in use. lt will thus be clear that as the right end of theboard 4, as viewed in Figure 2, is tilted downwardly, this tiltingmovement will be accompanied by a swaying movement to the right of saidfigure, and likewise when the left end of the board is tilteddownwardly, a swaying action in the direction longitudinally and to theleft of the board 4 will take place. The resilient supports 6 in thismanner provide a fulcrum about which the tilting movement of the board 4takes place, and also a fulcrum about which said board is longitudinallyswayed.v By employing this compounded movement a novel and attractivesee-saw effect is produced and obviously different compounded movementsof the board may be produced by using supports of different lengths andby using supports having varied resilient characteristics. Aside fromthe pleasing sensation to the user resulting from the use of a boardresiliently supported in accordance with the teaching of my invention,these supports are constructed so as to cause the board to return to aposition substantially parallel with the floor or ground subsequent toeach use thereof. In this manner the ends of the board will be free fromengagement with the gymnasium floor or the ground and greatly facilitatethe moving of the see-saw structure from one place to another.Obviously, the resilient support members 6 might be arranged in a mannerdiffering from the spaced relation which they occupy in the illustratedembodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.Thus, for example, a plu rality of such support members or leaf springsmight be superimposed upon one another in instances where a differentdegree of resiliency or more rigid construction is desired, this being amatter of constructional arrangement to satisfy the particular needs orwhich my improved device is to be ev ployed.

Attention is directed to the fact that the described teeter-totterdiffers from the usual types of pivotally supported see-saw boards inthat my device may be used by one person.

` no relatively In this connection it will be seen that I position oneof the handles 24 at the substantially the middle portion of the board 4and this handle provides a suitable gripping means when the board isused by one person. Such a person may very easily straddle the centralpart of the board adjacent the above mentioned handle and with verylittle effort cause the board to be swayed in the manner hereinbeforedescribed It will also be apparent that my invention provides ateeter-totter in which there are movable joints or rotary bearings suchas journals and the like, thereby reducing to a minimum the potentialhazards incident to the use of the usual type of teetertotter having aboard tiltable about a fixed pivot. Therefore my invention lends itselfvery readily for use in connection with playgrounds and the like whereit is desirable to employ apparatus for children which is not inherentlydangerous. Although the teetertotter herein described provides a convertient portable type of gymnasium or playground equipment, it will bereadily apparent that the resilient support members 6 may be secured ina fixed position as for example t0 a concrete or wooden floor (notshown).

y securing see-saw devices of the type described7 in a fixed positionupon the ground or to a gymnasium floor and arranging such devices inalignment, a very pleasing and orderly arrangement of apparatus isprovided by reason of the fact that the boards, when not in use, occupya position substantially horizontal with the ground or floor. Myimproved see-saw is very durable in construction and yet economical tomanufacture because of the minimum number of parts necessary in itsconstruction, and presents a novel and attractive type of playground orgymnasium apparatus.

Although a see-saw of particular design and having a particular type ofresilient su port has been herein described, it is to be understood thatmy invention is capable of many other applications, and therefore shouldnot be limited by the structures disclosed, but only by the scope of theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention what claim as new and ters Patent is:

l. A see-saw including a see-saw board, a base, and an upright resilientsupport member connected to the intermediate section of the board andmounted upon the base whereby the see-saw action is provided by theresilience of the support.

desire to secure by Letsee-saw comprising' a base, a see-saw boardadapted to accommodate a user at each end thereof and a resilientsupport member secured between the base and board, intermediate the endsof said board.

3. A see-saw comprising a see-sawV board,

a plurality of flexible supports rigidly secured to the board and lyingin a plane intersecting the plane of the board along a linesubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the see-sawboard, and base upon which the supports are mounted.

4. In a device of the class described, a seesaw board adapted toaccommodate a user at each end thereof, a resilient supporting meanstherefor positioned substantially intermediate the ends of the board andadapted to effect a combined tilting and longitudinal swaying of theboard, and a base upon which the supporting means is mounted.

5. In a see-saw device having a see-saw board, a base, resilientsupporting means positioned substantially intermediate the ends of theboard and adapted to effect a combined tilting and longitudinal swayingof the board, and a gripping means positioned medially of the board foruse when the board is being actuated by a single user.

G. A see-saw comprising a base, a see-saw board and a resilient membersecured at its lower extremity to the base and its upper extremityintermediate the ends of the see-saw board, the normal position of saidresilient member being substantially vertical to retain the see-sawboard in a substantially horizontal position when not in use with theplane of the board positioned substantially perpendicular to the planeincluding the resilient member.

7. A see-saw comprising a see-saw board adapted to accommodate a personat each extremity thereof, a base, an upright leaf spring secured at itsupper extremity to the medial portion of the see-saw board and at itslower extremity to the base, whereby the see-saw board may be swayedlongitudinally in response to the tilting thereof occasioned by personspositioned at each extremity of the board.

8. A see-saw comprising a see-saw board, a base, and an upright flexiblemeans for supporting the entire weight of the board, said flexiblesupport being connected at its lower extremity to the base and at itsupper extremity to the medial portion of the board, the plane of theboard being normally perpendicular to the plane of the flexible support.

9. In a device of the class described, a board providing a seat for arider, hand hold means mounted on said seat in position to be gripped bya person seated on the seat, a support base comprising a pair of spacedmembers, a cross member to maintain said spaced members in spaced apartrelationship, a block carried by said spaced members and a leaf springclamped at one end on said block and secured at the other end to saidboard whereby to permit a see-saw eect to be resiliently imparted insaid board when only one person is seated thereon, said spring beingarranged for flexion in a vertical plane substantially arallel with andbetween the spaced memers, whereby to prevent lateral tipping of thedevice and said spaced members being elongated sufficiently to preventtipping of the device about one end of the base when one person only ismanipulating the device.

10. In a device of the class described, a board providing a seat for arider, a support base comprising a pair of spaced members, a

cross member to maintain said spaced members in spaced apartrelationship, a block carried by said spaced members and a leaf springclamped at one end on said block and at the other end to said boardwhereby to permit a see-saw effect to be resiliently imparted in saidboard, said spring being arranged for flexion in a vertical planesubstantially parallel with the spaced members, said spaced membersbeing elongated sufficiently to prevent tipping of the device about oneend of the base when one person only is manipulating the device.

In witness whereof, I

scribed my name.

.TUNE H. HILL.

have hereunto sub-

